Beach Facilities Good for Razor Clam Diggers and Plovers

Portable toilets will be available for north Long Beach Peninsula razor clam diggers April 7-9. Willapa National Wildlife Refuge is placing two portable toilets on the beach in an effort to protect threatened western snowy plovers from disturbance during the upcoming dig. The portable toilets can be found at 4.0 and 6.0 miles north of the Oysterville Road Beach Approach. Clam diggers are reminded to remain outside of the signed closure area, and encouraged to use these toilets placed on the beach.

Western snowy plovers inhabit beaches and sparsely vegetated coastal dunes on the Leadbetter Point Unit of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. They are part of the Pacific coast population found breeding from Washington State to Baja Mexico. Western snowy plovers are classified as a threatened species because their numbers have declined due to habitat loss, human disturbance, and increasing threats from predators.

The western snowy plover is a small shorebird about 6 inches long, with a thin dark bill, and a light-colored body with dark patches on either side of the neck, behind the eye, and on the forehead. Plovers blend in with their surroundings so well that they are extremely hard to see, making it easy for unsuspecting visitors to disturb the birds or even crush the eggs and chicks, never realizing the damage they've caused. For these reasons plover nesting areas are closed to public access during the nesting season from March 15 to September 15 each year.

Enhancing productivity is key to population growth and necessary for reaching the recovery goal of one chick fledged per adult male. In an effort to increase reproductive success, active habitat restoration is an on-going part of management on the refuge. To improve habitat quality and quantity, invasive beach grass is being cleared at Leadbetter Point. Removing the non-native beach grass provides more open sand for nesting plovers and reduces cover for predators that depredate plover nests, chicks, and adults. To date over 125 acres of beach habitat have been restored on the refuge.

For additional information about Willapa National Wildlife Refuge and the western snowy plover visit: www.fws.gov/willapa.